Bell Witch: Funeral Doom Forever
Bell Witch @ Thalia Hall, Chicago 2019
photo by Andrew Rothmund for Invisible Oranges
Bell Witch: Funeral Doom Forever
Seattle-based duo Bell Witch practice a specific style of heavy metal called funeral doom. The typical sound is characterized by its plodding pace (slow beats-per-minute) and intense emotional gravity. If you can imagine a stereotypical funeral dirge — literally the processional song they play as they carry the casket — then you’re getting close to understanding the basics of the style. Unsurprisingly, there’s much more to funeral doom than recreating songs otherwise typically played exclusively in the presence of a coffin. Bell Witch puts their artistry and craft front-and-center, transforming what’s normally morose into something beautiful and rapturous with an undeniable human-hearted touch.
“Minimalist” Funeral Doom? What Now?
Among all funeral doom bands, Bell Witch made it stylistically clear from their inception that minimalism would help define their sonic bludgeon, setting them apart somewhat. Comprised of drummer Jesse Schreibman (who replaced original drummer Adrian Guerra after his passing in 2016) and bassist Dylan Desmond, the duo is notably absent a guitarist and a dedicated vocalist. While the style is inherently minimal to some extent, Bell Witch takes it to the most extreme degree.
Extreme minimalism? Yes. The sight of Schreibman beating a methodically slow pace into his set while emitting deep and pained growls into a boom mic is something to behold — and its compounded by Desmond’s hybrid style of playing, fretting chords and notes with both hands to create a layered, “two guitarist” sound as one person. It’s like a towering miles-high wave of seawater coming at you out of nowhere. Once invested, Bell Witch will hold your attention carefully, like a child holding a small animal — while some metal bands love to destroy, this one aims to nurture instead.
The Reality of Passing
Guerra’s death following the release of 2015’s Four Phantoms laid the pretext for Bell Witch’s most widely praised full-length, 2017’s Mirror Reaper. That album included archived vocal takes from Guerra in honor of his life and artistry, tying the then-present album to the past while, artistically, the album was aimed squarely at the future. You could describe Mirror Reaper as postmodern fine art, ahead of its time even, in the same stroke as explaining to a friend that you just listened to the slowest and saddest album you’ve ever heard.
There’s something cathartic and even profound about this style of music — certainly, it’s a type of appreciation divergent from the norm, but more than that, it’s a type of listening that many people either aren’t interested in, or don’t know how to practice. It comes down to your relationship with death, and how you want to explore that space, in efforts to come to deeper understanding about the beauty of being alive.
Digging Deeper
Bell Witch’s discography includes the following full-length albums:
Longing (2012)
Four Phantoms (2015)
Mirror Reaper (2017)
Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate (2023)
